Friday, August 1, 2008

Trader Rater 3.0: TEX, PUDGE, MANRAM, AND JUNIOR!


Just when you thought the Trade Deadline was looking a little slow, BAM! MANRAM! One of my favorite players was moved right at the deadline and is now going Hollywood! Another one of my favorite players was also moved from Ohio to Illinois.

Even though the day as a whole did not produce much in the means of quantity, I think you have to look at the whole time period leading up to the Deadline and consider it a blockbuster transaction period, beginning with CC Sabathia.

First, let's just note the minor moves that took place:

- The Seattle Mariners traded RP Arthur Rhodes to the Florida Marlins for a prospect
- The Washington Nationals traded RP Jhonny Nunez to the New York Yankees for SS Alberto Gonzalez
- The New York Yankees traded LaTroy Hawkins to the Houston Astros for infielder Matt Cusik
- The Washington Nationales released C Paul Lo Duca and SS Felipe Lopez
- EDIT: The Minnesota Twins released SP Livan Hernandez and OF Craig Monroe, and recalled SP Francisco Liriano and 1B Randy Ruiz

Now on to the BIG Stuff....

The Atlanta Braves traded 1B Mark Teixeira to the Los Angeles Angels for 1B Casey Kotchman and P Steve Marek
This was definitely a deal that had to be done fo the Atlnta Braves and the Angels for that matter. The Braves got a solid young first basemen who will be under their control for the next few upcoming years and compliments their lineup well. Kotchman has some pop and will fit well with the Bravos. For the Angels I think it was an extreme necessity for them to add a bat. Teixeira will be a free agent after the season and I hope that the Angels plan on resigning him. But to slot him in front of Guerrero and Torii Hunter, that is a solid lineup to go with the best rotation in baseball. The Angels will have a lot of offseason issues to deal with, but you gotta love when a team puts it all on the line to win NOW.


The New York Yankees traded RP Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for C Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez
In a move that single-handily represents that the Yankees are back, they did exactly what they needed to do to win the division this year. Sure, Pudge doesn't have the power he use, but he can still hit for a solid .300 average and play a sturdy defense. Recently, the Yanks have obtained Pudge, Sexson, Marte, and Nady and were heavily rumored to go after Jarrod Washburn. Farnsworth has been better as of late and will help the end of the Tigers bullpen. I think this was a great deal for the Yanks to help replace Posada for the stretch run.


The Chicago White Sox traded P Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar to the Cincinnati Reds for Ken Griffey Jr.
I love this deal for the fact that it puts Junior back in the pennant race in the American League. Other than that though, I am not quite sure how it will work out. Prior to the trade, Quentin was in LF, Swisher in CF, Dye in RF, Konerko at 1B, and Thome at DH. Where exactly does Junior fit in? There is talk that Swisher will move to 1B and Griffey will play in CF again. That leaves Konerko on the bench, who is their team leader and captain and was the key to the World Series win in 2005. Like I said, I am glad that Griffey is back playing meaningful games, but the whole idea of him back in Center is a question mark in itself.


3-Way Deal Special! The Los Angeles Dodgers received LF Manny Ramirez, The Boston Red Sox received LF Jason Bay, and the Pittsburgh Pirates received OF Branden Moss, P Craig Hansen, 3B Andy Laroche and another prospect
So ManRam (Manny Ramirez) does indeed get traded and it is to the Dodgers. Rumors were running wild that this 3 team trade would take place but involve Manny going to the Marlins instead of the Dodgers. The Red Sox were able to accomplish getting Manny out of the AL and to be able to get a very capable replacement in Jason Bay. Bay will be slotted right into where Manny was, Left Field and middle of the order and provide significantly less headaches. I am not really sure why the Pirates felt the need to deal Bay, they never seem to want to win and continue to be in rebuilding mode. They received some decent prospects in the deal who for the majority have Major League experience. Manny brings a BIG bat to the middle of the Dodger lineup and yet another Red Sox personality to the team who already have Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra. ManRam will be in LF every game and that will mean that Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre, Andre Eithier, and Matt Kemp will fight for 2 spots in the remaining games. I think this was a great move for the Red Sox and Dodgers, but for the Pirates...not so much.


Don't forget deals can still be done through out August, players just have to clear waivers.

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